Udagawa Yoan was a natural scientist and linguist. Since a child, he had developed a keen interest in plants and insects. he mastered Dutch and briefed with a Dutch scientist, Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866). Yoan also mastered English, German, Latin, and Russian. He was an accomplished writer and painter as well as medical doctor, and published numerous books on plants, dictionaries, medicine, herbs, etc.

In this hanging scroll, he described a unique orchid in Ryukyu, which was brought to Edo (ancient capital) in classical Dutch.